The People Power Party

Our political system is broken. Record levels of corruption, greed, and disregard for the rights, needs, and well-being of the citizenry have rendered it useless and even harmful. Instead of looking out for its citizens as is its duty, the government currently operates to shield and enable those who would subvert our democracy for their own ends and has become a kind of plutoidiocracy, the craven abandonment of fairness by those in power being exceeded only by their obdurate stupidity and denial of reality. Now is the time for a different kind of political movement—an anti-partisan movement founded on an entirely different principle than any of the present parties, solely devoted to restoring the government to, for, and by the people. I am calling this movement the People Power Party.

The People Power Party offers an alternative to political parties that have,
as our first President George Washington observed, an inherent tendency towards despotism because they seek to dominate other groups and often do not act in the interest of the common good. Further, political parties are prone to corruption, selling out to the highest bidder, and being willing to discard any
group or principle if it means more power for the party machine. Political parties actively discourage any real dissent or dialogue, coercing party members into unthinkingly marching in lockstep to the party line as they engage in a tug-of-war with their opponents, causing more and more polarization and encouraging knee-jerk reactionism rather than free-thinking rationality or
heartfelt discourse. Our system has become entropic as a result of this
constant jockeying for power. An alternate course would be to restructure
government so that power is shared as democratically as possible, which would
help safeguard against corruption or tyranny by any group, including the
majority, or any political party.

The purpose and ideology of the People Power Party, in contrast to political parties, would not be the establishment of a political party in the usual sense of the word as it would be limited to the principle of confronting corruption in government and creating a truly representative system focused on issues, principles, and merit rather than amassing power. The name People Power Party has been chosen to identify the movement because it is appealingly alliterative, easy to remember, and connotes a social event, not because it would seek recognition as a political party on any ballot; it is an affiliation in spirit only. The People Power Party movement sends a powerful message: that the corrupt, self-serving stranglehold that the two major political parties have had on our government is rejected, and that people are uniting across the political
spectrum to create a truly representative government for all citizens. The
People Power Party would therefore not support a candidate simply because of a party or label or accept woefully inadequate candidates just because they
supposedly are the “lesser of two evils”; instead it would support the candidate
most dedicated to the principle of returning the government to representing the
PEOPLE by committing to work on some concrete objectives to that end.
More importantly, it would not rely merely on electing people to office, but on
the power of the electorate to effect change directly.

The People Power Party movement’s overarching goal of reclaiming our republic and returning it to “of the people, by the people, and for the people” would be sought by pursuing the restructuring of government to maximize citizen participation, the democratic process, and representation. It would work as a powerful force behind the scenes, seeking no fanfare or recognition, without identified leaders, and as such would not be beholden to any personalities who might sabotage it, thereby eliminating the tendency towards hero worship that so plagues our public life. In keeping with the mission of returning the government to the people, The People Power Party would declare independence from the present broken system and commit itself to pursuing The People Power Party Platform.

While the mission of returning the governing of the country to its citizens is extremely serious, in order to remain grounded and centered and temper any tendencies towards zealotry in the process, the People Power Party would strive to maintain a sense of humor and not take itself too seriously. In this spirit of fun, it could become known as the PeePee Party, or if you will, the We We Party (for We the People), in either case free to go wherever it chooses to do its business! It could also be known as “The Movement” which, like a good cathartic, will work to remove the excrement from our political process. Let the People Party Down!